True, chanj. A number of different technology elements need to come together in enabling the automotive HUD. Advancements of films, glasses and other materials for the windshiled will all play a big role.

When I first heard about "augmented reality" for HUD, I had thought this was just a gimmick. But now, having seen some demos and pictures of what carmakers are putting in, I am convinced that this will be more than that. The advancements of ADAS will be also a big part of it, I think.

@Bert, good points all around. Not to clutter HUD with too much information is definitely the key.

Some car makers are already saying that drivers can select what info to put up on the HUD.

The last thing I want to see carmakers putting in is a text msg from a driver's mobile on HUD.

But on the second thought, when peopel are getting in traffic accidents because they can't restrain themselves from taking a peak at text msgs on their phones, maybe, putting it up on HUD could save people's lives...

Hi, Rick. Well, if you want HUD, you can actually buy those after-market HUD from Garmin or Pioneer. The one from Pioneer (based on DLP technology) looks very nice, but it still costs close to $1,000. Not cheap, for sure.

However, from what I understand, these HUDs are going downstream pretty quickly...you may get your HUD-preinstalled car by 2020.

This certainly will increase the cost of a windshield. I wonder by how much. I had to replace my windshield twice in the last 7 years due to stone damages. What if a stone hits my windshield: is the display damaged as well? How about ice in cold regions or direct sun exposure (UV) in hot regions? This may be a novelty for a long time until it becomes more lucrative for the average consumer.

Bert22306 makes excellent points about uncluttering the HUD view, with special sensitivity to night vision, maintaining necessary "driver-in-the-loop" acuity. We share many of these views. OEMs vary enormously in their treatment of augmented reality HUD, of course. Some quite conservative, others less so.

We have found that the 11 o'clock high position for TBT navigation is best, and most consistent with research done previously by NASA to help pilots navigate runways safely (and at night, maintaining peripheral vision without developing tunneling).

While I personally am not a fan of the "rip all content from the center stack and throw it into the HUD" approach, I imagine we will see a few of those in the early R&D stages. Once A/R HUD nears production (2016-17, trucks then cars), we may expect a consensus to have been arrived at around safe protocols.

One important quality of the very adept deep-field Augmented Reality HUD as developed by the MVS team is that it can portray images far, far in the distance, or nearer, to within 1 meter of location accuracy - and that window is getting tighter every year. So the aim is not to "create images" that don't belong in the driver's view, but preferbly - delicately, exquisitely - to simply light up, very subtly, those objects upcoming that a driver really *needs* to see.

For TBT navigation, we consistently recommend an 11 o'clock position, although the HUD can do "arrow on the ground" just as effectively. It's wonderful to hear such intelligent feedback on the subject.

I would expect the windshield itself to become the screen, eventually? No? Perhaps edge-lit. The windshield would be the matrix digital display.

Difficulties I can see include first and foremost, to decide what info to put on the windshield. Typically, it would be a very small amount of info. Anything more becomes a distraction. I can see your arrow idea, associated with GPS directions, makes sense. But to put a bunch of gauges up there doesn't make sense. It might be done as a sales gimmick, but it will end up being distracting.

The other problem is nighttime vs daytime brightness. At night, especially when driving on unlit roads, that windshield display has to be exceedingly dim. Otherwise, it will take away your night vision. Perhaps it would also need to be red, for that same reason. Imagine missing dark shapes in front of you, because some HUD object is blinding you to them.

Focusing distance may also be a problem, although maybe that's also a problem with regular instrument panels. You don't want people to spend too much time focusing on the HUD image in front of them, and simultaneously fuzzing out traffic around them.

HUD? Hey, I still don't have keyless entry or an MP3 connection in my Honda CRV. My next car will hav that. I'm not sure I'm going to live long enough to own a car with an HUD. When does that come to a mainstream model?

In conjunction with unveiling of EE Times’ Silicon 60 list, journalist & Silicon 60 researcher Peter Clarke hosts a conversation on startups in the electronics industry. One of Silicon Valley's great contributions to the world has been the demonstration of how the application of entrepreneurship and venture capital to electronics and semiconductor hardware can create wealth with developments in semiconductors, displays, design automation, MEMS and across the breadth of hardware developments. But in recent years concerns have been raised that traditional venture capital has turned its back on hardware-related startups in favor of software and Internet applications and services. Panelists from incubators join Peter Clarke in debate.